


Name-day

by Proskenion



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Other, a bit of sulk but lots of fun too, little Robb, young Theon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-20 18:49:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9507236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Proskenion/pseuds/Proskenion
Summary: It is Robb name-day and the 10 year-old boy is excited to show his new present to Theon. Or when too much excitement can bring some unpleasant fear... and show the strength of friendship too.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I'm here again with some new work about young Theon and Robb in Winterfell :) I hope you'll like it and I'm sorry for the mistakes!

« Theon! Theon! »

Robb had run all through Winterfell looking for his friend. He finally found him in a courtyard, practicing archery alone. The ten year-old boy was sweating and breathless, but he ran toward him all the same, calling out his name. 

“What is it?” Theon asked without turning his eyes from the target.  
“Theon.” Robb managed to say, hardly catching his breath. “You have to come – and see – what father and mother – have offered me –“ 

Theon stay quiet for a few seconds, as if he were unaware of Robb presence. He released his fingers from the string of his bow, and the arrow went straight to the middle of the target with a high whistling. Theon smirked, satisfied, and then turned to Robb. 

“A gift? Lucky you. Let’s go and see it, then.” he said to the boy with a smile. 

Robb jumped with excitement and then began to run happily, forcing Theon to run after him. It was Robb’s name day, and the little boy was particularly joyful since morning. 

When they arrived on the main courtyard, Theon stopped. Lord Stark was there, and Lady Stark with him. Maester Luwin was there too, and Jon Snow stood behind. In front of them, Ser Rodrick was holding a great black horse by a leather lead. Robb run straight to him. 

“Theon, look! A horse! A proper horse, just for me!” Robb exclaimed, proudly standing by the animal side.

Theon smiled. He glanced in the direction of Lord and Lady Stark and then walked toward the horse. He caressed it on the flank and said: 

“It’s a beautiful beast. How will you call it?”   
“I don’t know yet.” Robb answered, suddenly serious. “I have to think about it, I want the perfect name for it. It’s my horse, my first horse!” He said with pride. 

Theon smiled again. Robb always made him smile. The boy was now literally dancing all around the horse out of joy, and Ser Rodrick had to ask him to calm down or he would frighten the animal. Robb stopped, barely containing himself. He suddenly exclaimed, turning toward Theon: 

“We could go on a ride together! Oh please, please, I want to ride it so much!” 

Theon slowly turned his eyes toward Lord Stark. He caught Lady Catelyn’s expression of disapproval but decided to ignore it. She seemed about to protest, but Lord Stark talked first: 

“Alright. But don’t go too far. And be careful.”

Theon nodded, a huge smile on his face, and ran to fetch Smiler before someone had the idea to protest and make Lord Eddard change his mind. When he came back on his horse, he found Robb riding his own, and Lord Stark by his side. All the other were gone. Eddard walk toward him. 

“You’re in charge, Theon.” He said. “Be careful.”   
“Yes my lord. I will.” 

Eddard nodded and watched his ward and his son until they passed the gate. Theon was smiling. He took a huge breath of fresh air, and then turned to Robb. 

“Are you alright?”   
“Yes.” The boy answered. 

But Robb seemed a little bit unsure, and that made Theon laugh. 

“You’ll get used to it.” He said. “You’re a good rider.”

Robb nodded, and smile to Theon. He thought that he probably was a good rider on his pony, but it was different with a horse. It was taller. But he did not dare to say it out loud. Instead, he said:

“I wanted to ask Jon to come with us. But he leaved while you were looking to my horse, I couldn’t find him.”  
“Don’t mind him.” Theon replied. _He’s probably sulking somewhere_ , he thought. _And he doesn’t even have a proper horse of his own._

The two boys were riding for a while now, and Robb was getting more and more confident. Suddenly, Robb turned toward Theon and said with mischief in the eyes: 

“Do you want to race?”

Theon did not answer immediately, but when he saw the eager look of his little friend he could not help but agree. 

“Alright. But…”

He could not finish his sentence; Robb had already broken into a gallop. 

“No, Robb, wait!” 

He swore and set Smiler into a gallop, trying to catch the boy. But he was going too fast. No matter how hard Theon would push Smiler, he would not make it. And then he saw it. Robb’s horse jumped over an old stump and the boy was thrown out from the saddle. Theon felt the fear stroke him like a punch. He caught his breath until he arrived. He jumped from his horse and kneeled beside Robb who was lying on the dirt.

“Are you alright? Robb?” 

Theon felt his heart beat in his throat. He was terribly worried. What if?... But Robb just rose to a sit and burst into a laugh. 

“Wow!” he exclaimed.   
“Are you hurt?” Theon asked.   
“No, no! I’m fine, I’m perfectly fine!” said the boy, still laughing.

Theon released his breath. He was deeply relieved. But all of a sudden, as Robb was still laughing, he exclaimed: 

“Are you mad? What were you thinking about?”   
“It’s alright, it was only for fun!” Robb replied with a gleeful face.   
“For fun? For fun?” Theon exploded. “There is nothing fun with it, you stupid child! You could have been hurt! You could have killed yourself! Do you just realize…”   
“Don’t yell at me like that!” Robb cut with anger. “Who do you think you are?” 

Robb immediately regretted his words. But it was too late. He had hurt his friend; he could see it on his face. Theon did not answer. He looked away and stood up. He went to fetch Robb’s horse, and when he came back with it he said in a dull tone: 

“If my lord consents to take his horse, it is time to go home.” 

Then he got on Smiler and leave without a look to Robb. The boy felt ashamed and followed without a word. 

They were riding slowly in complete silence for a while when Robb suddenly said: 

“I’m sorry, Theon. I didn’t mean it. Please, don’t be angry with me.” 

The older boy turned his face to him, and to Robb surprise and relief, he was smiling. 

“It’s alright. Of course I’m not angry with you. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. But- You really frightened me you know?”   
“I’m sorry…”   
“It’s fine. The only thing that matters is that you haven’t been harm.” 

Theon laughed and added: 

“Just imagine your mother’s face if I had brought you injured at home.” 

Robb smiled. Theon looked amused too. But on the inside, he still felt glimpses of his previous fear. He would never have forgiven himself if something had happened to Robb. But, fortunately, no harm had happened to him, and they would laugh about it soon enough. 

“By the way” Theon said to Robb before they arrived to the gate of Winterfell. “There’s no need to talk about it to your parents, right?” 

As a matter of fact, he was still a little worried about the consequences if Lord and Lady Stark learned about Robb’s fall. He was in charge after all, and Lord Stark had ordered him to pay attention. And he was the older one, and the older one had to protect the younger one. But he felt completely relieved when he saw Robb wink to him saying: 

“Talk to them about what? Nothing happened, we just horse-rode together.” 

Theon smiled gleefully.

**Author's Note:**

> So here it is ^^ I wanted to show the closeness of Theon and Robb despite Theon is older, the admiration of Robb and the responsibility that Theon feels toward Robb... I'm not sure it worls. I also wanted to show the difficulty of Theon's position in Winterfell and that despite his friendship with Robb, I'm not sure it is relevant... Also I tried to show that Theon fears Ned, I'm not sure that relevant or that it works too. Actually I'm not sure about the whole stuff, haha. Hope you like it anyway!


End file.
